Another of Comte's contemporaries, Karl Marx, was particularly contemptuous of Comte's work, condemning his "shit positivism" (Scheisspositivismus) and vehemently denying ever "writing Comtist recipes for the kitchens of the future." Marx saw the supposed expertise and neutrality of social engineers influenced by Comte as a sham, as it is impossible to stand above society and manipulate social variables. Marx pointed out that the social engineer is human, and is therefore "no abstract being squatting outside the world." ] Marx always puts things so nicely... i found this quote at http://thegreatdebate.org.uk/ThreeCs.html

i learned that Brazil's flag has written on it modifed comte philosophy.. comte reformers were all over the place in S america... i was reading h. spencer from a 'history of Western thought' book i have, and comparing him to Hegel. spencer does use an inherent drive of "freedom" as the prime mover or kernel core of historical unfolding of Progress... it seems likely that spencer got this from Hegel, but i cannot find a definite link. Comte is harder to decipher: he writes "[the] central point of Positivism is... the principle of Love upon which the whole system rests. ...Hence, Progress, which is simply the development of Order under the influence of Love" [love being his shorthand for "sympathetic instincts" over and above self-interest..] whtat is interesting is that both spencer and comte, in the bits and pieces i read, appear to be idealists like Hegel. it is only when we get a strong darwinism inspired soical evolution, that a materialism appears..